If you look at these numbers you see why it is doubtful, that these rocks
could be cut with copper tools (Mohs hardness 3). Franz
Löhner is sure - without using iron (Mohs hardness 4.5, wrought iron
7-8 [5]) it is not possible!Cutting granite with iron tools

The Aswan stone quarries (granite)

Aswan (Assuan) lies 934km south from Giza up the Nile river (about 700
km air-line distance). The granite quarries lie south and southeast of
the city of Aswan on the right side of the Nile and cover an area of about
20 km². The granite for the pyramids probably came from the northern
part. For the construction of the pyramids the ancient Egyptians only
used building stones in perfect condition and that is only a stone
which has been split off. Some archeologists assert [2],
that also weathered roundish granite boulders were used, this kind of
stone always has small fissures and can break apart easily, so it is unsuitable
for use as a building stone.Photos
quarry Assuan / Google
Earth pictures / Rose granite 123
/ Gray granite 12
/ Diorite 123

An earlier pyramid, Djoser's pyramid, also had an inner granite chamber,
but for the construction of Khufu's pyramid hard granite was used for
the first time on a grand scale, mainly for the burial chamber, the passages
and for the sarcophagus [1]. For the pyramids of
Khafre and Menkaure again large quantities of granite were used for building,
actually the first 16 outer stone layers of the pyramid of Menkaure are
entirely of granite [2].

Franz Löhner shows, that granite can't be processed without iron
tools (see cutting granite with iron tools).
He thinks, that the changes toward slowly using more and more granite
for important buildings is consistent with his assumption, that the iron
needed to split and cut granite was traded for with the Hittites and only
after some time there were enough iron tools available that larger quantities
of granite could be cut.

The Tura stone quarries (limestone)

The Tura quarries (or Maasara quarries) lie south of Cairo on the eastern
shore of the Nile, about 13-17km from Giza. These quarries yield limestones
of a very high quality - white, very fine-grained, not very porous and
somewhat harder than the limestone from Giza. Tura limestone can easily
be cut and formed but when being exposed to air it hardens after a certain
time. Because the stones weather to a slightly yellowish tone, they were
extracted already during the time of building the pyramids from layers
deep down, and even from underground. The whole area where the quarries
lie is almost entirely stratified horizontally, so the stones are relatively
easily extracted. The stone layers are 0.8 to 1.5m thick and separated
by small clayey layers. This is the reason, why the blocks can be detached
from the bedrock simply by lifting them up [2].

If
possible stones intented to be laid down on the pyramid next to
each other were also broken next to each other
in the quarry. This automatically meant, that the blocks were of the same
height and that they fitted to each other along the line of cleavage (breakage).
So after splitting the stones, the quarrymen only had to control the longitudinal
side and check if the line of breakage really fitted to each other. This
had to be done carefully, because only small changes could still be made
after the stone had been transported up the pyramid. If the stones didn't
fit well, this was changed with hammer, chisel and other tools.

Cutting the correct angle and the corner stones:
The outer casing stones had to be bevelled in the correct angle (52°)
for the flank of the pyramid, this was done with hammer and chisel and
controlled with a special wooden gauge (illustration above). The quarrymen
paid special attention to the corner stones. These stones had to support
and absorb the enormous weight of the pyramid that pressed down and sidewards,
so they had a special shape and were very massive. The angle of the very
corner was very difficult to achieve and asked for high precision in workmanship.
The outer stones all had to be very precisely cut, because here
the angle of inclination of the pyramid was defined.Alignment of the pyramids and controlling
the shape of the pyramidThe outer casing stones of the pyramid
(corner stones)

Here
at the quarry the stone can be lifted up, canted and worked on all sides.
This is not possible if done on the pyramid itself. Before leaving the
quarry, a master stonemason controls the size, shape of the stone and
if it is smoothed enough at the right places exactly, the way it is necessary
for its intended place on the pyramid. Only after passing this inspection,
the stone is tied to the sledge and brought down to the harbor. Here it
is transferred to special ferry boats, similar to the ships for the granite
blocks and then transported to the Giza harbor. The Tura stones had to
be handled with special care when loading them on the sledges. The wooden
levers were wrapped with straw and the cargo was specially secured.Shipping
the stone blocks down the Nile to GizaDetailed calculations how many workers
were necessary to build the pyramid

Please take note, that it is very important, that the stones
were cut and bevelled at the quarries and not on the pyramid itself
like it is proposed by most Egyptologists! The outer casing stones of the pyramid
(reasons why)

The Giza stone quarries (limestone)

The stones used for Khufu's pyramid is a gray-yellow colored nummulite
limestone and belongs to the Mokattam formation. The Giza quarries only
lie a couple hundred meters south from the pyramid of Khufu. Then the
plateau itself where the pyramid lies was also used for quarrying stones
[1].

The pyramid builders used stones of different size and height for the
layers. The stone blocks of Khufu's pyramid were very large in the lower
layers (1m x 2.5m and 1-1.5m high, 6.5 - 10 tons). For the layers higher
up it was easier to transport smaller stone (1m x 1m and 0.5m high, 1.3
tons) [2]. For calculations most Egyptologists
use 2.5 tons for an average stone block.

Petrie [6] measured the pyramid layers and noticed,
that while the stones used for the layers of Khufu's pyramid overall get
smaller the further up you go, again and again there are stones layers
much thicker than the ones before. Franz Löhner thinks this is evidence,
that the stones in one layer originated (if possible) from the same stone
layer in the quarry and then were layed down on the pyramid next
to each other. Stone courses of the Pyramid of Khufu

The archeologist Mark Lehner says, that the rubble covering the Giza
quarries nowadays is what is left over after dismantling the transport
ramps. But even if you think transport ramps are necessary - why cover
up a perfectly good quarry which still can be used for many generations
after the pyramid has been built (for example stones from Menkaure's quarry
were used for tombs in Abusir [2])? Actually it
is more likely, that rubble and sand have accumulated there after the
quarries were abandoned because they were no more profitable.Theories of pyramid ramp systems disproved

Orange = Limestone quarries on the Giza plateau. Dashed
line = harbor facilities, their exact position is not known

There is a building in the harbor of Khafre which is about
70m long and there seemed to be two piers there. The stone blocks from
Tura and Aswan were brought here on the Nile channel. The walls of the
channel and the harbor were probably used to moor ships transporting materials
like wood, ropes and other building materials. Shipping
the stone blocks down the Nile to Giza

Quarries in Ancient Egypt

Quarries for many different types of stones lie along the Nile. Most
stones were transported on barges down the Nile. Granite for the King's
Chamber in Khufu's pyramid was brought over more than 900km from Aswan
and white limestone for the outer casing from Tura, a few kilometers south
of Giza.